Allen's records
by AGENT Kuma-chan
Summary: Allen was a Bookman and an exorcist and working together with Tyki to destroy Akuma. None of this felt right.


**Title: **Allen's records

**Prompt:** Exorcist!Tyki, Bookman!Past!Allen

**Characters/Pairings:** Tyki, Allen

**A/N:** For Ren, for the DGM exchange! You wanted Exorcist!Tyki and Bookman!Past!Allen, which I initially read as Bookman!Allen and thus this…strange thing was born. I'm not sure how to feel about this fic, but I hope you enjoy it!

**Summary:** _Allen was a Bookman and an exorcist and working together with Tyki to destroy Akuma. None of this felt right._

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"Allen," a wizened old man stated bluntly, pointing at Allen. He blinked once, twice, before adding, "That is your name."

"Allen?" the white-haired boy repeated, tasting the name. It felt familiar. It felt _right_. "I am Allen."

"Yes." The old man nodded. He held out a black book, _Allen_ inscribed on it in gold font. "Allen Bookman."

"Allen Bookman," Allen murmured, carefully receiving the leather-bound tome. "I had that name before."

"A name is never used twice," Bookman replied. "Each book is unique as is the history it covers."

"But—"

"A name is never used twice," Bookman interrupted firmly. "You are Allen now, remember that."

-x-

"I'll raise." Tyki tossed his chips into the pile in the middle, his lips a flat line. It was impossible to read his eyes behind his thick glasses. Not that that stopped his opponents from trying. His suspenders and bird's nest of a hair gave him an air of naïve country boy and everyone fell for it.

The chips bounced slightly as the train chugged forward. Sitting near the window, Allen glanced out as they sped forward—they were crossing mountains now, giving them at least half-a-day to their remote destination. Plenty of time for Tyki to fleece everyone, unfortunately. Fiddling with his fingers, he half-heartedly asked, "You're an exorcist. Are you sure you should be doing this?"

"Of course! It's just a game." Tyki shrugged nonchalantly, peeking at his cards again.

It was futile, really. Despite that, Allen tried again. "But you—"

"What, you're trying to kill the game?" his opponent, a passenger who Allen didn't quite catch the name of, derisively snorted. "What's your name again, kid?"

"Allen." He sighed, already knowing where this was going. It happened every time the guild sent him out with Tyki.

"Allen, well, either you join us or you stay out of it." The man smirked, tossing forward several chips to the pile. "And Ol' Rick here's going to raise."

"A raise?" Tyki blinked in surprise. "Then…hmm…" He peeked at his cards and bit his lip. Hesitantly, he tossed the extra chips. "I'll call."

Ah, the usual. Next up would be pretending to be a beginner. It was strange how familiar this whole scenario felt, how accustomed to it Allen was. There was something about it all that tickled his memory, but he couldn't be sure what it was. He'd been here before, only on the other side of that table.

Maybe it was just because he was a Bookman. It made him better at finding patterns, even for cons and scams.

"You sure?" Rick's smirk grew even bigger and he leaned forward. His hand hovered over his chips. "You can always fold."

"I'm sure Lady Luck is with me," Tyki responded, tugging at his suspenders. He smiled broadly. "She likes first timers, so I hear."

"First-timer?" Rick chuckled. "I promise to go easy on you, then."

"Please do," Tyki replied with a Cheshire grin.

Allen winced. Maybe he could convince Tyki to at least let him keep his clothes.

-x-

Allen grimaced as he stared up at the three level 2 Akuma hovering ahead. No matter how many times he'd seen them, he couldn't get used to their ugly faces. They looked even worse now, at night, when the moon reflected off their white bodies and almost lighting up the dark street. As they faced one another, he took a deep breath and rested a hand on the hilt of his broadsword. "I'll take the right one."

"No need." Tyki smiled aggressively, slicking back his hair and pocketing his glasses. There was an almost feral feel to him, a wild animal about to let loose, and Allen reflexively took a step away. He felt dangerous in a way he never had before, like he was dynamite waiting to explode.

"We're working together," Allen protested, drawing his sword. "I'll take the right one."

"No need," Tyki growled, pulling out two daggers from his pockets. With a wicked grin, he flicked each one at an Akuma, hitting them point blank. "I need to release some stress. They're mine."

"What's this?" the Akuma muttered, tapping at the dagger in its forehead. "Is that supposed to hurt?"

"More than hurt," Tyki corrected before snapping his fingers. The daggers transformed, the Innocence transforming into dozens of butterflies with razor-sharp wings. They cut into the Akuma and it screeched in pain. "Get it off!"

The third, untouched Akuma stared back and forth from one ally to another. It was too late though, the other two Akuma were engulfed in a swarm of butterflies. Their shouts filled the air.

They were just Akuma. Akuma who had murdered hundreds. Akuma who had to be destroyed.

Allen felt a knot in his stomach as he watched, horrified.

"And now, you." Tyki's lips curled into a menacing smile as he turned to the surviving Akuma and he raised his hands. His weapons transformed back into two daggers and flew back to him. As he snatched them, he cocked his head. "I think I'll take this slow."

Allen rushed forward before Tyki could do anything. He couldn't go through that again. Lifting his sword high, he slashed the Akuma, splitting it in two. "I said I'd do the right one," he panted.

"You did, didn't you." Tyki's voice was low, velveteen, and Allen tried not to shiver at the threat hidden in his voice.

"Yeah." Swallowing, Allen turned back to Tyki. "I…" He trailed off as he caught sight of Tyki. Was it just him, or had his partner's skin turned darker? His teeth looked like tombstones as he smiled. "Tyki? Are you okay?"

Tyki raised an eyebrow, bemused. "After you stole my kill?"

No, he wasn't imagining things. Even in the dark, Allen could see the dark crosses tattooed across his forehead. Slowly, he tapped his forehead, unable to find his voice.

"My…Oh." Tyki blinked owlishly, like he was on the train playing cards again and this was yet another one of his scams. He glanced at his hands and gave a wry laugh. "Whoops. I guess the cat's out of the bag."

"You're a…" Allen swallowed, unable to finish the sentence.

"A Noah." Tyki had no such qualms and he shrugged at the revelation. "Well, that's a bummer. I like you but I can't let guild find out yet." He flipped his dagger in hand idly. "Though…I guess I don't have to worry too much. You're a Bookman right? You're good at keeping secrets."

"What?" Allen gaped. "I have to tell…I have to tell…"

"And possibly change the course of the war?" Tyki chuckled, pulling on his glasses and messing up his hair. He was transforming back into an exorcist, as though the Noah side of him was a costume he could just take off. "No, you wouldn't do that. You're a Bookman."

Allen opened his mouth to protest, that this wasn't covered under their Bookman neutrality, but he could feel his mentor's eyes on him, pronouncing him _Bookman_, telling him the rules of their clan.

This was game changing.

He couldn't do anything about it.

-x-

As usual, Tyki sat in the dining car on their ride back. He shuffled the cards quickly between his hands, eyeing the passengers as they streamed in and out. Spotting a man in a top hat, he smirked. "Now, that looks like an easy mark."

Allen just stared at the cards as they changed order, as they moved from one position to the next. "How can you act like that?"

"Like what?" Tyki scratched his cheek, confused. "We always do this." He was the picture of the exorcist Tyki, of the man that Allen thought he had known. In the light of day, there was no sign of his Noah marks, of his darkened skin. As though yesterday was a dream.

How he wished it was just a dream.

Tyki was just a pale, scrawny mess of a man and that unnerved Allen more than anything. The exorcist was just a persona and he didn't know how was hiding behind the curtain. "Like nothing happened. Who are you?"

"That's a funny question." Tyki chuckled and leaned closer. He rested his chin on his hands. "A Bookman having difficulties with identity. Then what about you? Who's the real you?"

"I…that's not important," Allen snapped back. He slammed his hand on the table. "You're tricking all the exorcists. You're friends with them! And you're betraying them!"

"That's just how the game goes. They're out to kill me and I'm out to kill them." Tyki leaned back and pulled out a lighter. He flicked it on and off, his eyes trained on Allen's. "At least I have a reason for this. You? You just want to record history, Allen. You're going to let me get away with it all, just to record in a little black book. Then again, I guess you've always been that way, huh, Allen?"

That felt intimate. Familiar. Far too personal for their relationship and Allen sat back in his seat, not sure how to react. There had been Bookman on both sides of the war. He knew that. It was not strange that Tyki would know that. Yet… "Have we met before?"

"Ding ding ding." Tyki went back to shuffling his cards. "I was with the Noahs and you…you were Allen back then too. How funny." He waved at the man in the top hat, gesturing for him to come over. "I thought Bookman changed identities when they changed books. Not you, I guess."

_A name is never used twice._

Allen watched as Tyki got up, holding out the deck to the man in the top hat and gesturing at one of the card tables.

_A name is never used twice._

Inside him, there was a plethora of dead identities. It only took closing his eyes to see them, to see the names engraved on the coffins that buried his past. _Justin, Ron, Fred, Allen._

_Allen._

_Who are you?_ Tyki had asked.

Allen didn't have the answer to that.


End file.
